Gary Dahl. Advertising for Dummies
Подождите немного. Документ загружается.
172
Part II: Creating Great Ads for Every Medium
16_045833 ch11.qxp 11/22/06 3:42 PM Page 172
Part III
Buying the
Different Media
17_045833 pt03.qxp 11/22/06 3:44 PM Page 173
In this part . . .
T
he chapters in this part give you a real-world look at
negotiating with sales reps and buying advertising
schedules on the various media for your retail business.
The advice I give here is done under the assumption that
you want to save a few dollars wherever possible. I also
show you a few tricks of the trade and give you a good
understanding of the buzzwords you may encounter along
the way. And if you find you can’t do it yourself (or just
don’t want to), you can find information on when it’s time
to consider hiring an ad agency to do all this for you.
17_045833 pt03.qxp 11/22/06 3:44 PM Page 174
Chapter 12
Investing in Internet Advertising
In This Chapter
Getting your Web site designer to create the site you need for your business
Choosing the right ISP to run your Web site
Purchasing rank on search engines
Advertising your business on other companies’ Web sites and search engines
Deciding whether e-mail advertising can work in your business’s favor
O
nline advertising is the newest ad medium, and even though it may
seem like it’s been around forever and you can’t remember a time when
you didn’t check the Web for something, it’s still fairly uncharted territory for
many businesses — not just small businesses but even the big guys. In fact,
an entire trade association, the Internet Advertising Bureau (www.iab.net),
is devoted to increasing companies’ knowledge and use of the Internet as a
viable advertising vehicle.
Online advertising is definitely something that every small business needs
to consider doing, because of the ubiquity of the Internet. For many people,
especially younger people, searching the Web is the first place they go to find
information, learn about new products and services, and buy stuff.
To help you navigate your efforts on the Web, this chapter guides you
through how best to allocate this part of your advertising budget. If you’ve
decided you need a Web site but you don’t want to create it yourself, I guide
you to a professional to do it for you. And if you’re ready to go further and
advertise on other companies’ Web sites or start doing e-mail blitzes, I pro-
vide information on those options, too.
18_045833 ch12.qxp 11/22/06 3:45 PM Page 175
Hiring Someone to Create
Your Business Web Site
If you’ve decided that you don’t want the responsibility or don’t have the skills
or time to design your own Web site (I discuss design in Chapter 6: “Creating
Your Own Web Site”), you should hire a Web designer to do this for you. In
other words, you can always pay someone else to do this for you when you
realize you can’t do it all on your own. To get started, check out the following
sites for lists of Web designers in your area who may be able to help you:
AAADesignList.com: www.aaadesignlist.com
The List: www.webdesign.thelist.com
You can also ask your Internet Service Provider (ISP) if it can recommend a
Web designer (see “Finding an ISP to Run Your Site” later in the chapter). And
believe it or not, even though you’re developing something for the Internet,
you can even find “Web page and site design” in your Yellow Pages — which
is about as low-tech as you can get when searching for information!
Whether you’re a do-it-your-selfer or contracting for services, particularly
where Web advertising is concerned, it’s a good idea to research your intel-
lectual property rights, which will help ensure that they remain protected
and won’t be misused or abused by anyone else, particularly the copyrights
and trademarks associated with your ads and with your business in general.
Have a lawyer specializing in intellectual property rights go over your busi-
ness and advertising plan with you if you aren’t sure what to look for.
Choosing a Web designer worthy
of your hard-earned dollars
Wait, you say! Finding a Web designer is one thing, but how do I know
whether the developer is any good? Not all Web designers are created equal.
If you choose to hire a designer, you want her expertise, yes, but you also
want your own ideas steering the boat. Keep in mind, you’re paying this
person to translate your ideas into information that will be useful to your
customers on the Internet, so make sure you get what you pay for!
Here’s what you should expect from a good Web designer:
Several sterling references. Be sure to call the references and ask how
well the designer worked with the customer. Did the designer meet
expectations? Was the schedule met? Were there unexpected costs at
the end?
176
Part III: Buying the Different Media
18_045833 ch12.qxp 11/22/06 3:45 PM Page 176
A trail of good Web sites. Examine the work of the designer by visiting
several Web sites developed by that person. Are the pages attractive?
Are the sites easy to navigate? Do the sites have a look and feel appro-
priate to the Web site? Do any sites take an inappropriate time to load?
A clear list of what is and isn’t provided in the Web design project.
Will the designer put your site on the Internet for you? Will the designer
notify search engines that your site is available? Will the designer create
a logo for you, or do you have one already? How many pages will your
finished site contain? Will the graphics be custom-designed or taken
from a graphics package?
The ability to optimize your site for search engines. Find a Web
designer who understands how to perfect your site so that customers
can find you.
A delivery schedule. The designer needs deadlines in order to know
when you need the site up and running.
Milestones. Will the designer give you a chance to approve or disap-
prove of the site at each step along the way?
A clear estimate of the costs — all the costs.
A professional product. The various pages on your site should all have
a unified look and feel. Graphics should be tasteful and not too large. No
single page should be so long that a visitor has to scroll way down to get
to important information.
Before you hire anyone, examine the work of the designer by visiting several
Web sites developed by that person. Consider the following factors:
Are the pages attractive?
Are the sites easy to navigate?
Do the sites have a look and feel appropriate to the Web site?
Do any sites take too long to load?
Your designer should expect professionalism from you, too. Here is what
your designer can expect from you. Be sure you’re providing the following:
A clear sense of purpose. You should communicate the way you want
your site to look and feel. Flashy? Understated? Jam-packed with
information?
The content for your site. You can’t expect a Web designer to know your
business as well as you do. You must provide logos, information, or
whatever you’ve promised to the designer in a timely manner.
A list of a few sites that you particularly like. The sites don’t have to be
in your same line of work, though.
177
Chapter 12: Investing in Internet Advertising
18_045833 ch12.qxp 11/22/06 3:45 PM Page 177
A mind that’s made up. If you change your mind a little bit, that’s to be
expected. But no one can work with a person whose mind isn’t made up.
Prompt payment. Enough said.
Contracting with and paying
a Web designer
When you find a designer you like, you (or your lawyer, if you’re skittish
about doing this yourself) should draw up a contract so you both know what
work you’re paying for — and what you’re not going to pay for. This contract
can be as simple as a letter of agreement, but what’s important is that both
you and your Web designer sign it so that it’s binding.
You have several types of contracts from which to choose:
Hourly: If you choose an hourly contract, make the reporting schedule
frequent so you know exactly how far along the designer is at any
moment. You don’t want to be caught by surprise. Be sure to reserve the
right to cancel the project if your expectations aren’t being met.
Not to exceed: Under this type of contract, the developer estimates the
cost for you and probably charges by the hour, but the designer agrees
not to go over a certain cost. If the developer has misjudged the esti-
mate, he absorbs the cost.
Fixed price: This contract is a flat rate. You and the designer agree to
a single price for the entire job. Know exactly what you’ll receive on a
fixed-price contract. The number of hours your designer takes to com-
plete the project is of no concern to you. Whether the designer finishes
your site in a single day or a month, you pay the same rate.
Cost plus: In this type of arrangement, the designer bills you for all
costs, plus you pay a fixed fee or a fixed percentage on top of the costs.
Some developers subcontract part of the work to other people, and you
are required to pay the fee.
Design to fee: Under this kind of contract, you tell the designer how
much you’re willing to pay. In return, you receive the best Web page pos-
sible for that price.
These various financial arrangements are the same for any design job — Web
sites, print, collateral, whatever. You can mix and match or create other types
of agreements as you and the designer see fit. Most designers require a pay-
ment before the project begins. Keep that initial payment as low as possible.
178
Part III: Buying the Different Media
18_045833 ch12.qxp 11/22/06 3:45 PM Page 178
Make sure you include a payment schedule in your contract, no matter which
type of contract you use. If speed is important to you, add a schedule incen-
tive. For every week the project is late, deduct a percentage (about 5 per-
cent). If the project is delivered early, add a bonus to the fee. Never ever
make the final payment before the work is fully completed and you’re satis-
fied. Also include a cancellation clause in the contract. You want to be able to
cancel at your discretion at any time. (You have to pay for anything com-
pleted up to the point of cancellation, of course.) The developer wants a can-
cellation clause, too. That’s only fair.
Finding an ISP to Run Your Site
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are everywhere, and you have many options
to choose from. Here are some questions to ask of ISPs when you’re shopping
for one that works for you:
Do you offer Web hosting? The World Wide Web (the Internet) is, of
course, a massive collection of Web sites, all hosted on computers
(called Web servers) all over the world. The Web server where your Web
site’s HTML files, graphics, and so on reside is known as the Web host.
Web hosting clients simply upload their Web sites to a shared (or dedi-
cated) Web server, which the ISP maintains to ensure a constant, fast
connection to the Internet. If your ISP doesn’t offer Web hosting, you
need to find another ISP.
What kind of technical support do you offer? You want someone avail-
able to help you 24/7/365. Do they have a toll-free number? Is technical
help available via e-mail? Remember: Technical support never seems
that important when you’re signing up, but it becomes the most impor-
tant thing in the world when your Web site crashes.
How many e-mail accounts can I have? You may need multiple e-mail
addresses if you have several employees. Take stock of what you think
you need — now and in the future.
Do you have traffic limitations? Some ISPs have restrictions on the
number of visitors you may have to your site. Popular sites may be
zinged with unexpected costs. Find out what additional costs you can
incur if you go over the limit. The goal is to attract lots of people to your
Web site, so an ISP that charges you for doing precisely what you’re
striving to do may be one you want to avoid.
How much disk space will my site be allowed? Tell the ISP whether you
think your site will have numerous pages or just a few. Be sure to men-
tion whether your site will have lots of graphics as well. This informa-
tion helps the ISP choose the correct package for you. Most hosting
packages offer at least 25MB of disk space, which should be plenty. That
amount works out to about 500 Web pages — give or take a few.
179
Chapter 12: Investing in Internet Advertising
18_045833 ch12.qxp 11/22/06 3:45 PM Page 179
Do you keep backups? System crashes can kill your business. If the ISP
says its system never crashes, don’t believe it. What you want them to
say is that, on those rare occasions when their system crashes, they
keep backups on another machine. Along the same lines, ask whether
the ISP has a backup power supply onsite.
Do you offer site statistics and log files? This information is helpful if
you want to keep track of how many visitors you have and which are the
most (and least) popular pages on your site. You can find out how long
each person stays on your site and where they came from — all very
handy information.
Do you offer high-speed Internet access? Ask your ISP whether it sup-
ports digital subscriber lines (DSL), integrated services digital network
(ISDN), cable modem, and T1 and T3 connections. Does the connection
work at all times? Are there peak hours? Can you get a refund for
downtime?
How many users per modem does it have? You don’t want busy signals
all day. The more access numbers, the better.
Do you have templates available to help me build my site? Some ISPs
offer simple boilerplates to fill out (called templates). You provide infor-
mation pertinent to your site, and the template creates the correct
HTML for you. (For more on templates, see Chapter 6.)
Can you help me find a Web designer/developer? Many ISPs keep a list
of Web designers because they realize that most people don’t want to
bother with learning HTML. These Web designers can create a Web site
tailored to your individual requirements. Hiring a pro is a good way to go
unless you’re determined to master mounds of technical information.
(If you want a go at designing your own site, consider checking out
Creating Web Pages For Dummies, 8th Edition, by Bud E. Smith and
Arthur Bebak [Wiley].)
Will you buy and register a domain name for me? As ISPs discover
more about what their customers want, they offer more services. In days
gone by, you used to have to find an available domain name and then
buy and register it. For a small fee, ISPs can take care of this little
headache for you.
Do you offer shopping carts? A shopping cart is what enables a buyer
to select more than one item and pay for them all at the same time. If
you’re certain you never want to sell online, you can ignore this ques-
tion. But the answer could prove important if you think you may want
an online store later.
What e-commerce software do you have that can help me build an
online store? Does the ISP offer secure services for the customer? The
current standard is called Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), which protects
your customer’s private information, including his credit card number.
You don’t want to operate an online store without it.
180
Part III: Buying the Different Media
18_045833 ch12.qxp 11/22/06 3:45 PM Page 180
Ranking Your Site: Purchasing
Key Words on Search Engines
You can also advertise your business on various search engines. For example,
if you want to advertise on Google.com, check out “Get me on Google”
(www.getmeongoogle.com). This site does exactly that: It advertises your
business on Google, so that when people are searching for information on a
particular topic, if your business has anything to do with that subject, your
Web site appears on the right-hand side of the screen. “Get me on Google”
also analyzes your Web site and finds appropriate keywords that you should
match up to, and then it can run your ads for a monthly fee.
Buying Banner Ads on Other Web Sites
In addition to developing your own Web site (see Chapter 6), you may also
want to advertise on other business’s Web sites. Chapter 6 gives you the
basic information you need for how to create those ads; the following sec-
tions provide information on how to get those ads up and running. You can
get your banners and buttons on a Web site in several ways.
Using ad networks
A number of sites can place your banner ad for you. One of the leading sites
used by many big advertising agencies is DoubleClick.com (www.double
click.com). If you have a large company and a budget to match, DoubleClick.
com is a great option.
You can also check out other sites known as banner exchange networks. With
these sites, you have to display banner ads for other companies on your
company’s Web site, in exchange for them putting your banner ad on their
sites. The cost is lower and makes this option worth considering. Microsoft
has a useful exchange program. (Go to www.microsoft.com/small
business. Then click on “Attracting Customers,” in the Online Services
section — attracting customers is what your advertising should do, right?)
You can also find a banner exchange program at www.bpath.com: Just click
on “Banner Exchange.”
If you click on Bpath.com’s “QuickBanner,” you can also create various types
of banners, for not a lot of money — for example, at the time of this writing,
check out these prices:
181
Chapter 12: Investing in Internet Advertising
18_045833 ch12.qxp 11/22/06 3:45 PM Page 181